galle children's festival 2012

The 2012 Galle Children's Festival was expanded in response to the fantastic feedback and suggestions shared by the 2011 participants. Click here to check out the GCF 2012 Video!

Opening Parade, Ceremony and Puppet ShowThe Galle Children’s Festival 2012 officially opened on Thursday 11th October 2012 with an opening parade which showcased the talents of local young people. School bands and dance groups performed in this exciting parade which wound its way through the historic Galle Fort.

Our Chief Guest Honorable Chandima Rasaputhra, Minister of Provincial Education (Southern Province) officially opened the Festival and spoke of the importance of events such as the Galle Children’s Festival to foster the participation of local school students.

Students and their families were then treated to a traditional Puppet Performance by the Saranga Ambalangoda Puppet Group.

Schools' DayTo ensure schools are able to fully participate, an exclusive ‘School’s Day’ was held on Friday 12th October; enabling students and their supervising teachers a chance to take part in a very special program designed especially with local schools in mind. Over 1100 children from 45 local schools were treated to their very own day of exciting workshops and activities. This event was held at Children’s Hope in Hadediwatta, Habaraduwa, Galle

The following workshops were run on Schools’ Day:

1. Classical Ballet

2. English Through Craft (BC)

3. English Through Rhymes (BC)

4. English Through Drama (BC)

5. English Through Storytelling (BC)

6. Team Building & Leadership

7. Simply Batik and Tie Dye

8. Play Therapy

9. Illustrate Your Own Stories

10. Story Telling - Admiral Illangakoon

11. Juicy Writing for Young Writers

12. Art and Craft with British Council

13. How to Make a Cookie

14. Impressions of the Festival

15. Pottery Painting

16. Rhythm and Music

17. Recorder for Beginners

18. Let’s Speak Japanese

19. Flip Book Animation

20. Wild Creativity

21. Forum Theatre

22. Kakadu Jack Story Telling

23. My World Without Water

24. Drama with British Council

25. Photography Workshops

26. Busy Hands Art and Craft

27. Taekwondo Martial Arts

28. Story Telling with British Council

29. Recycled Art

30. Adventures in the Wild with Endangered Animals

31. Let’s Craft with Beads

32. Sign Language

33. Origami and Japanese Calligraphy

34. Foam Crafts

35. Essay Writing is all about Creativity

36. Scrabble

37. Theatre Workshop

Community Day A full day of activities was also held on Saturday 13th October in the Law Court Square, Galle Fort which provided the children of Galle and surrounding areas with the opportunity to participate in the many activities on offer. The 2012 Festival's Community Day gave over 1000 children from around Sri Lanka the opportunity to come and participate in a full day of activities and workshops. This special event was held in the Law Court Square, Galle Fort as well as the Maritime Museum and Hall De Galle. Over 1000 children participated in the following workshops on Community Day:

1. Shakespeare in the Fort

2. A Hat For Every Star

3. A Great Essay Is All About Creativity

4. Of Sinbad and the Seven Seas

5. Introduction to Classical Ballet

6. Sand Art

7. My Seaside On Canvas

8. Cooking with Kids

9. Stencil and Aerosol Art

10. Jammin with Kist Jams

11. Be Curious Photography Presentation

12. English Through Craft (BC)

13. English Through Rhymes (BC)

14. English Through Drama (BC)

15. English Through Storytelling (BC)

16. Simply Batik and Tie Dye

17. Illustrate Your Own Stories

18. Art and Craft with British Council

19. How to Make a Cookie

20. Impressions of the Festival

21. Pottery Painting

22. Japanese Music

23. Recorder for Beginners

24. Let’s Speak Japanese

25. Kakadu Jack Story Telling

26. Drama with British Council

27. Taekwondo Martial Arts

28. Story Telling with British Council

29. Recycled Art

30. Adventures in the Wild with Endangered Animals

31. Let’s Craft with Beads

32. Sign Language

33. Origami and Japanese Calligraphy

34. Foam Crafts

35. Scrabble

36. Mind Adventures Theatre Workshop

GCF Day Out‘GCF Day Out’ was held on the final day of the Festival, Sunday 14th October and gave local families the special chance to spend the day together on a range of exciting outings. These included the Day Out with the Sri Lanka Navy, Pool Party at the Lighthouse Community Pool, Eco-Trip to local rainforest and tea estate Samakanda, a visit to the Martin Wickramasinghe Museum and a special bike ride for children and their parents around the historical Galle Fort.

Over 700 local children and their families had the unique opportunity to participate in a range of fun family outings on the final day of the Galle Children’s Festival. Families met at the Samanala Ground before buses took them on these fun outings.